


Shuffle

by thewishingdragon



Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Precognition, Veronica has precognitive abilities, but she can see possible futures, holy fuck she basically has future vision, i should be working on my other works in progress but this is happening instead, inspiration is a fickle asshole, she can't see the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 10:16:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16890660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewishingdragon/pseuds/thewishingdragon
Summary: Take a deck of cards.Now shuffle it.Chances are, the exact sequence of cards you’ve just created has never existed before, and will likely never exist again.The number of possible combinations for a single deck of cards is incomprehensible in its vastness.Seriously, look it up.Every time you shuffle a deck of cards, you’re creating a sequence that has probably never existed before.Wild, right?And you may be asking yourself, “How does this relate to the story I’m about to read?” Well, you’re about to find that out very soon.





	Shuffle

Ever since Veronica could remember, she had been able to see the future.

Well, not exactly  _ the _ future. She could see possibilities. Decisions and outcomes stretching out before her eyes until she was little more than a speck in a sea of stars. She eventually learned how to pick the most favorable future and work towards it. If she played her cards right, it would come to her, and everything would go the way she wanted it to.

She and Betty would sometimes use it to see what would happen if they did something reckless, and other times, she’d use it to help Martha make important decisions.

She didn’t use it often. Mostly because it only worked under very specific conditions. She would have to concentrate if she wanted to see the possible futures, she would have to maintain physical contact with the person whose future she was trying to decipher, and she could only see the possibilities as they related to herself, the person she was touching, or both.

Since she didn’t typically find herself holding physical contact with people for an extended period of time, she didn’t really find herself doing more than a cursory sweep of possible futures with people she met, if she looked at their futures at all.

Still, it was a handy ability to have. Especially now, as she stood in front of Heather Chandler, watching the possibilities stretch out in front of her like a spider’s web, breaking off into more and more futures for her to choose from.

It lasted only a moment before it ended, contact broken as soon as it had been established as Chandler snatched the note from her hand, but Veronica had enough information to know what she wanted to do. The route she chose would lead her to attract more attention, but she would also avoid the torment she had suffered up until this point.

“Let me sit at your table, just once, no talking required. If people think you tolerate me then they’ll leave me alone.”

The look in Chandler’s eye told her that she’d made the correct choice. The three Heathers had brought her into their group, and with that status came protection from the people who had tortured her for the past several years.

She shared a glance with Betty and Martha in the hallway, feeling guilt curl and twist in her stomach. Hopefully, her decisions would be right, and she’d be able to get through this without hurting them. They knew about her ability. Had used it to make decisions and do reckless stunts. If she just explained to them what she saw, she knew they’d be okay with what she was doing.

If she played her cards right, everything would go just fine.

Not that she alone could change the future. There was a measure of luck and blind faith involved. She could manipulate the odds, but only so much. Other people were still just that. People. They all had their own desires and agendas, and would seek to play the system the way she did, without the same foresight that she had.

Because of this, she was, admittedly, a bit of a cynic. She expected the worst of everyone, but hoped, in some secret part of her heart, that things would all work out for the best.

She was also a bit of a gambler, in a manner of speaking. She never put all her chips down on one outcome, as chance was a fickle piece of shit, but she tended to put a lot of her effort into the future she wanted to accomplish.

And, should a less favorable future become more likely, she would adapt. She would revise her strategy and try again.

Sometimes it worked. Sometimes people did exactly what they needed to in order to get the best possible outcome. Other times, people were awful, and spiteful, and ruined everything for themselves and the people around them.

She sat at the lunch table with the Heathers later that day, listening intently to them as they talked about their plans for the afternoon.

She knew what she needed from Chandler. Knew the outcome she wanted and what she had to do in order to get there. Now, she just needed to figure out the other two Heathers’ futures. If she could collect more information, she stood a better chance of getting the best outcome.

“You know,” she said, getting the attention of the Heathers, “I uh… I learned to do palm readings in middle school. Just for fun, y’know? If you want, I could-”

“Palm readings?” Duke snorted, “That’s all bullshit.”

Veronica shrugged. “I just figured it seemed like a fun thing to know, honestly.”

Duke scoffed. “It’s a waste of time.”

Mac tentatively held out her hand. “I think it seems like a fun idea.”

Veronica smiled and took Mac’s hand, pretending to study her palm. Futures spread out before her eyes, possibilities splayed across her field of vision, incomprehensibly vast. She skimmed over possibilities, finding the one she wanted and looking through the steps required to get there.

“Don’t wear your heels this week,” she said, “One of them will break and you really don’t need to be going to cheer practice with a sprained ankle.”

Duke scoffed. “I could’ve told her that.”

Veronica gave her a challenging smirk. “Alright then. How about I try yours?”

Duke rolled her eyes, but held out her hand anyway. “Nothing’s gonna happen, but if it’ll make you shut up, then fine.”

Veronica picked through her futures until she found the one she was looking for.

“Next Saturday, your Jeep is gonna be hit by a drunk driver. You won’t be in the car, but they’re gonna do a fair amount of damage to the exterior unless you avoid parking on the side of the road.”

Duke blinked, then huffed. “Bullshit.”

Veronica shrugged. “Believe me or don’t. I don’t really care.”

“Me next,” Chandler said.

Veronica nodded, and repeated the process.

Chandler’s futures were incredibly varied. Veronica needed to be careful. One wrong move and everything could go south in a second.

“Your cat’s gonna get sick. Just a stomach bug. Nothing too serious. Still, try and check her food to make sure there’s nothing in it that’s bad for her, and keep her from eating or drinking anything weird.”

“How did you even know I had a cat?” Chandler demanded.

“I can see the future,” Veronica said simply.

Duke scoffed.

“Shit, Heather, that reminds me, one of your dogs is gonna get an ear infection in the next couple of days.”

Duke’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Which one?”

“The brown one. Oliver, I think?”

Duke sneered. “You’re fucking with me.”

“Do you really want to risk it?”

She hesitated, then shrunk back. “I’ll make an appointment with the vet later today.”

Veronica nodded. “If you catch it early, he’ll be fine in a couple days.”

They were suspicious now, but that was fine. For now, she was useful-and intriguing-enough to keep around.

She just needed to make herself indispensable to them.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all like this one! Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think! Also, y'all know my tumblr by now, but my twitter is @wishingdragon45 in case you're interested in following me there!


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